Remember that "always wear sunscreen" song from the late-90s?  Well, here's my version—updated now that we're all parents. After taking care of thousands of kids for over a decade, plus raising two of my own for over twelve years, I’ve come to recognize the value of things that aren’t taught in books. Here is some of my personal advice for a year of love, growth, and happiness for you and your family. Enjoy! 

I didn't walk into 'Frozen 2' expecting to be moved as deeply as I was. But an unexpected and brave choice struck a chord with me and, I hope, will have a positive impact on me & my family in the future. This episode is also available as an article at www.drstevesilvestro.com/frozen

When your kids were little, chances are that you’d occasionally face a “witching hour”—usually somewhere between 5 and 7 PM—when everyone was cranky and emotions ran high.   Now your kids are older and what happens smack in the middle of that timeframe? Homework!   Whether kids have specific challenges with learning or are doing just fine in school, it seems that tears and battles over homework are über-prevalent today. I hear it from friends and patients, and have absolutely experienced it in my own home.   Sometimes it’s the volume of work. Other times, it’s hard and your kid swears that you’re helping them wrong (that’s always a fun one…). And sometimes it’s that your child just doesn’t feel like doing it right now—though you know it needs to get done.   Enter: Zoie Hoffman.   Zoie is the founder and lead tutor at Hoffman Tutoring Group, an online tutoring company that serves students in K-8thgrade. Zoie’s passion for personalized learning stems from her own experience struggling with academics in elementary and middle school. She dedicates her time to ensuring students get the education and mindset building they need to meet their academic goals through individualized tutoring sessions with amazing and qualified online tutors.   Zoie knows how to make homework less of a struggle for everyone—and she shares her tips in this episode.   Are kids having a harder time with homework today than in years past? How to help kids organize their approach to assignments Importance of taking breaks—and how long kids can be expected to focus based on their age How to plan for long-term assignments & projects Why you need to teach your kids how to get organized instead of expecting them to just know The best time for your kids to do their homework What to do if your family is too busy to keep up with homework routines Tips for kids with ADHD & other learning challenges How involved should parents be with their kids’ work? Thoughts on the role of homework in today’s education How reading logs can backfire & what to do instead How to handle it when your child says you’re teaching it wrong How to help your child through self-doubt …and much more!’   This might be one of the most useful episodes to date! If there’s a moment that stands out to you as you listen, take a screenshot of your podcast player at that moment, post it on Instagram and tag me @zendocsteve.   To share this episode out with a friend who you think could use help making homework time less of a battle, share the link drstevesilvestro.com/homework.

"People are not just birthing babies—they’re birthing themselves as parents.” - Tara Campbell Lussier, cofounder of Arrow Birth Getting ready to have a baby is no small feat. We've somehow turned this millennia-old rite of the human experience into work. There are books to read. Conversations to be had. Things to buy. Your body and nutrition to prep. Seemingly huge decisions to make. This beautiful, natural experience can suddenly seem so overwhelming—which is why you want someone who is warm and wise by your side. My guest in this episode is that person. As you’ll hear when we first start talking, I first met Tara Campbell Lussier when my wife and I were looking for a Doula before our daughter was born. Tara, Monica, and I quickly hit it off and we’re so glad that we did. Tara was present for the births of both of my kids and she holds a special place in the heart of our family. But after spending nearly 12 years running a vibrant solo doula practice in northern Virginia, Tara is now the cofounder of Arrow Birth—an online platform that is revolutionizing birth education around the world. I was honored and very happy to have been a part played a part in Arrow's Discover Birth Education Course, and it’s been a thrill to see Tara and the rest of her a wonderful team getting media coverage and winning accolades for the amazing work they’re doing. In This Episode, We Talk About: What a doula can offer Why I wanted to step out of my doctor role for the birth of my children Arrow’s platform bringing all the best experts from all facets of pregnancy, birth, and beyond—and what Tara learned by spending so much time speaking with them A few lessons Tara has learned starting a business as a busy mom The most important ways a mom can prepare herself for childbirth How to prep for post-delivery The biggest unmet needs in postpartum care What we should be saying to & asking of moms in the postpartum period—both to best support them and to better recognize postpartum anxiety & depression What moms actually need from visitors once they’re home with the baby How Tara & Arrow are supporting moms and babies around the world …and much more! Tag me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and let me know what you think about my conversation with Tara Campbell Lussier! Important Resources for You to Use: Book Mentioned In This Episode: The Postpartum Husband: Practical Solutions for Living with Postpartum Depression - by Karen Kleiman, MSW

We all have “To Do” lists—sometimes several of them at once.  But do you have a parenting To Do List? And of those list of things to do—whether they’re short-term or long-term—how many of them are things that NEED to get done, versus things you WANT to see happen, versus things you feel like you SHOULD be doing? See, there’s a big difference—and my guest today will argue that all those “shoulds,” all those pressures we guiltily put on ourselves but are neither real needs nor wants, those “shoulds” just might be  Alison Escalante, MD believes our culture of anxiety is stealing parents' joy and telling them they can never do enough or get it right. She is a Pediatrician, TEDx Speaker, Writer and the Creator of the 3S method to help parents raise their kids skillfully AND enjoy doing it.  Dr. Escalante has degrees from Princeton in the history of ideas and Rutgers in medicine, and did her pediatric training at Duke and University of Chicago.  I found our conversation in Episode 101 of The Child Repair Guide to be quite a compelling argument for reassessing the personal and family goals we all set—and I bet you’ll find something in it compelling, too. In our conversation, we talk about: How the United States is tied for #1 in the world when it comes to anxiety—and why anxiety is so natural for parents to feel Dr. Escalante describes the parenting “Should Storm”—and how our “shoulds” impact our kids and keep us from enjoying them as much as we could The problem with “catastophizing”—how the small parenting choices you make AREN’T actually going to mess your kids up for life How studies show that getting it wrong 70% of the time is actually good for your kids Taming your inner critic 3 steps to ending the “Should Storm”—with real-life examples Why so many parents feel the weight of Imposter Syndrome How to prevent your kids from developing Imposter Syndrome, and grow up confident and resilient instead We cover research showing that kids at high-achieving schools are as at-risk for mental and behavioral health problems as kids who suffer from poverty and abuse And how the parenting experts don’t always get things right with their own families all the time (ahem!) While you’re listening, if there’s a moment that really stands out to you, take a screenshot of your podcast player and post it to your Instagram Story and tag me in it—@zendocsteve—and I’ll share it out, too!

I can't believe it—100 episodes!  To celebrate this big milestone for The Child Repair Guide, I've dug deep into the archives to pluck out some of the absolute best insights from the pantheon of experts I've had the opportunity to speak with over the last 3 1/2 years. You'll hear from: Amy Morin, author of 13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do Psychiatrist Dr. Lindsay Clendaniel Patch Adams Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child Marianne Perez de Fransius, cofounder of Bébé Voyage Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, @theguthealthmd Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run Each shares their 3 best tips for raising happy, healthy, confident kids, and each answer is unique & powerful. Thanks so much for all of the support through this 100-episode journey. Here's to 100 more!

Has this ever happened to you? You’re in the grocery store checkout line, pregnant, and a random stranger decides it’s okay to touch your belly. Or You encounter someone who has absolutely no medical training at all, but who is a self-proclaimed expert in something they passionately argue is crucial to the health of your family, even though doctors think it’s backward. Or No matter what choice you make in caring for yourself or your family, there is always someone in your life who gives you the side eye or makes a comment that leaves you feeling like you’re doing it wrong. Well, you’re not alone. And not only are you not alone right now—you’re experiencing challenges that mothers have faced for 100 years or more. That’s the subject of You’re Doing It Wrong: Mothering, Media, and Medical Expertise, co-authored by Bethany Johnson and my guest in this episode, Dr. Margaret Quinlan. And in our conversation, we covered a range of topics from her book, touching on issues that affect every mom out there, including:  Why the pressure of living up to “good mom” standards is so universal How the source of parenting information has changed over the past 100 years The subtle ways we put pressure on women even before they get pregnant How the words we use to describe issues that arise in pregnancy & delivery can place unnecessary feelings of blame on mothers How pregnancy is a “performance” in today’s society The fact that so much advice and care has long been directed toward white, cis, middle and upper class women throughout history—and how that impacts people who don’t fit those labels The rise of “lay experts,” and how anyone who is confident can present themselves as a self-described expert How to navigate the abundance of lay experts on social media and online What doctors should be doing to better help parents get good information and care Take a listen, then post a screenshot of your podcast player to your Instagram Story & tag me @zendocsteve!

Decided to share one of my speaking engagements with you because -- I hope -- there are some pearls in here that you might find helpful. Last week, I was invited to speak at Dentons in Washington, DC, to talk about "mindfulness for parents" with their Parent Professional Network.  You'll hear:  A powerful story from my pediatric training that shows how mindfulness can help us connect with ourselves in life-changing ways How to bring mindfulness into your family even without formal meditation Why putting our kids first and ourselves last ISN'T always in our kids' best interest Why pediatricians & parents struggle with little old ladies! HOW mindfulness works -- the most important part of the conversation that never gets discussed A full guided imagery exercise Why there's no such thing as "mindful parenting" You can watch the video of this whole episode on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/drstevesilvestro As always, I appreciate your feedback -- likes, comments & shares!

I have a SUPER special guest this week—my amazing wife, Monica Silvestro! Monica has built a life around education, health, and personal development—first working in the public health world on programs centered around youth education, then in the field of nutrition, and more recently in early childhood education. Working with 3-year-olds for the last 6 years, Monica has come to recognize many of the obstacles that can keep young kids from having the most successful preschool experience possible—and she shares those insights with you here in this episode. If you have a preschooler—or if you know someone who does—this is a must-hear episode!           

This is an episode I hope every parent hears. Bullying has been a hot topic in the last several years, and for good reason. Up to half of all kids report being bullied by the end of high school. One in three kids admits to bullying someone else(!), and up to 70% of kids report witnessing bullying episodes take place. All of which can have serious lifelong impacts on kids & teens. Who better to tackle this than a 5th-degree black belt with a heart of gold? Daniel Amaguana is becoming known as a premier expert in teaching kids &b teens how to use their voices to stand up for themselves. He's making a critical impact in the world of anti-bullying advocacy, and you can learn his best tips here. This is an episode you'll want to keep coming back to because there are pearls of wisdom right up through to the end! As you listen, I'd love it if you could take a screenshot of your podcast player, share it to your Instagram Story, and tag me @zendocsteve. You can also share this episode with parents & teachers who want to learn more about the best ways to combat bullying by sharing the link www.drstevesilvestro.com/bullying